Quality Control

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State of the Art Printing / Die Cutting Makes tab production easy

WaferSeals.com has a unique view into the tabbing industry as is documented in the about us page of this web site. By virtue of having close relationships with large users of tabs we have learned most of the problems that mailing houses have with Tabs and Tab Suppliers.

The objective of this Quality Control page is to make it clear that WaferSeals.com understands what tabbing problems exist, and how simple the solutions are from the supplier side. WaferSeals.com is focused on making "Trouble Free Mailing Tabs"™ that run faster and are reliable so that mailing houses will be willing to pay a little more for a tab that will make them money. If WaferSeals.com is not going to sell tabs based on low price, we need smart customers. Customers that understand that the money a mailing house makes in tabbing is not in the cost of the Tab but, in how much profit is to be made or lost in labor of the actual tabbing operation. The unit price difference in tabs of .00015 cents means nothing if you can tab twice as fast.

Problem #1: Tabs don't dispense consistently.

Solution: Use a more rigid material ( clear, trans or paper ) such as 2.5 mil vs 2.0 mil. clear polystyrene. Material costs 20% more, but the Tab doesn't lay limp when it turns on the dispensing edge of the machine. Insure sensing boxes and bars are dark black.

Problem #2: Tab rolls have frequent splices throughout which jam the machine, damage mail, and cause delays and down time.

Solution: Eliminate splices in rolls by ordering raw materials with the exact length required. Put pressure on raw material supplier to eliminate or limit splices. Net result 95% of all Tabs sold by WaferSeals.com have no splices. When splices are unavoidable, limit splice to one per roll or trash the material.

Problem #3: Tabs stick to the bottom side of liner and don't dispense.

Solution: Control the amount and type of adhesive used. Control tension of the finished roll to prevent adhesive ooze.

Problem #4: Can't run mailing projects fast enough. Every time we speed up the roll, the web breaks and the supervisor needs to web the machine again. Ideal speed would be 15,000 to 25,000 pph. (parts per hour)

Solution: Use a stronger liner. When die cutting the Tabs, eliminate fracturing the liner, which results in web breaks when tension is applied to the roll. Maintain finish roll tension that allows for slack throughout the entire length of the roll.

Problem #5: The last 1000 or 2000 Tabs left on any roll are wasted because the web breaks frequently, so we just don't use it.

Solution: Use a stronger liner. When die cutting the Tabs, eliminate fracturing the liner, which results in web breaks when tension is applied to the roll. Maintain finish roll tension that allows for slack throughout the entire length of the roll.

Problem #6: Post office rejects the Tab because of perforations breaking open.

Solution: Insure die registration during production. Create dies that don't fracture the edge of the tabs yet have the required per inch quantity and spacing of perforation.

To further control quality and identify problems if they ever arise WaferSeals.com has developed a system that allows us to identify every roll of tabs we make. In the event that a problem comes up we can pin point the exact internal source of the problem and determine if the problem is likely to be ours, or possibly an operator error at the mailing facility.

Step #1

Each individual roll of tabs has a numbered core label. The label is recorded in a journal that tells us the day the tabs were made. The exact dies used to produce the tabs. The press used to produce the tabs. The operator that produced the tabs, and finally the exact lot of raw material that was used to produce the tabs.

Step #2

Each box of tabs have a unique number. That number is also recorded in a journal that tells us exactly what core numbers are contained in the box. We then record the unique box numbers on our copy of the packing slip.

Step #3

All products produced by WaferSeals.com are 100% warranted for a period of 90 days from the date of shipment. Therefore, the above information is critical in granting returns and refunds.